Quantum Imaging: New Methods and Applications

This document reports the results obtained in a five-year research program aimed at developing new imaging methods based on the quantum statistical properties of light fields. Significant results obtained in the life of the program include 1 demonstration of ghost imaging of an object using reflected light, 2 demonstration of the ability to discriminate between two objects when illuminated by only a single photon, and 3 the use of entangled photons to achieve aberration correction for even-order aberrations. Other areas of significant progress include development of new sources of entangled photons, development of new single photon detectors, use of thermal light to mimic quantum fluctuations in certain imaging protocols, new theoretical approaches to optical coherence theory, quantum entanglement based on orbital angular momentum, use of ghost imaging for imaging through biological materials, exploiting the large information content of entangled images, use of quantum techniques to enhance the properties of optical coherence tomography, development of methods for quantum lithography, theoretical treatment of new methods for producing and utilizing N00N states, and theoretical development of efficient N-photon absorbers. This program has also had a large positive impact on the education of students. During the life of the award, we trained 17 PhD students and 5 postdoctoral fellows, who are an asset to the nations workforce.